


Whispers in the Night

by Vialana



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Dealing With Trauma, Klance Week 2016, M/M, minor self-harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7712851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vialana/pseuds/Vialana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith and Lance aren’t dealing well after being rescued from captivity.</p>
<p>For Klance Week 2016 on Tumblr<br/>Day 5 Prompt: Ice/Fire</p>
            </blockquote>





	Whispers in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Set in vaguely in the future.

Keith lay awake, staring at the blank ceiling of his room in the castle ship, trying not to scratch his heart from his chest. The itch wasn’t real, he knew that, but it was easier to scratch at his arms and stare at the blood welling beneath the skin than think about why he needed to do so in the first place.

He’d been back and out of the healing pod almost a week and he still hadn’t settled down. What little sleep he did manage to get during the night was broken and filled with terror. He’d taken to napping in the meeting room while everyone chatted, finding the noise and smell of other people comforting. He could relax when there were other people around – especially if they were awake and alert.

No one had mentioned anything to him yet about the new habit but it was probably only a matter of time before they started prodding. Keith didn’t want to explain his new insecurities to anyone yet – or ever, if possible; he honestly just wanted to push past the trauma and move on with his life.

These silent sleepless nights weren’t helping with that, however.

A knock at his door interrupted his building panic and Keith leapt at the opportunity for distraction, climbing out of bed and answering the door even before the person on the other side had finished knocking.

Lance stood there, the night cycle hallway lights making him look even more pale and sick than he had been before he was ushered into the pod next to Keith over a week ago. He was still so gaunt. Keith probably didn’t look much better.

Outside of team meetings and training, they hadn’t seen each other since coming back to the ship. Keith wasn’t sure if they were intentionally avoiding each other or just trying to move on with their lives as best they could by themselves.

Keith was expecting the sight of the blue paladin to fill him with remembered dread but he found himself stepping aside and inviting Lance into his room with the closest thing to a smile he’d attempted in weeks. Lance returned the gesture with a relieved sigh and stepped into Keith’s room, already looking better than that first glimpse Keith had seen upon opening the door.

They should have done this sooner.

“I keep having to change the thermostat in my room,” Lance said first, staring at Keith’s unmade bed instead of looking at Keith directly. “One minute it’s like ice then it’s boiling and then ice again and nothing I do makes it feel okay.” He was twisting his fingers into his nightshirt, clenching the material hard enough to almost tear it. It was probably less harmful than Keith’s scratching but Lance would hate it if he stretched and tore his clothes.

Keith pulled Lance’s hands away. Lance looked down as though surprised that his anxiousness was manifesting so obviously.

“I can’t sleep unless someone else is around,” Keith admitted, staring at Lance’s hand in his, the contrast in their skin tones easier to focus on than their confessions.

Lance looked up, meeting Keith’s eyes. “Can I––”

“Stay.” Keith tugged on Lance’s hand, pulling him towards the bed. “We’re not dealing well. And I need something safe and familiar.”

Lance nodded and let himself be pulled along in Keith’s wake, climbing into bed beside him and settling in.

The mattress was too soft. But Lance was warm, his breathing steady, and his heartbeat familiar in Keith’s ear. His hands wrapped around Keith’s shoulders and pulled him on top of his chest and Keith was finally able to relax.

“This is still kind of fucked up,” Lance said, his voice barely a whisper.

Keith just shifted closer, enjoying the warmth of Lance’s body cocooning his. He understood what Lance had said before: his room was both too cold and also too hot and stifling. It was likely all in his head; he was still dealing with the physical memory of their trauma, despite being healed of all injuries. It just felt like he was still back there, in that tiny cell, denied food and comfort and sleep – the guards making it so cold that ice formed on the walls, or hot enough to burn their skin if they touched the floor with bare feet.

Lance had been his only salvation, simply by being there; the two of them alone in that room for months with only each other and their captors.

“I can’t lose you,” Keith admitted, voice no louder than Lance’s. “Yeah, we need to deal with this, but even after that I don’t think I could lose you.”

Lance’s embrace tightened; paradoxically, Keith started breathing easier.

“Well, we survived that,” Lance said, his voice starting to slur with sleep. “I’m pretty sure we can survive anything.”

“Promise?” Keith closed his eyes and let himself drift away.

He was on the verge of sleep when he heard Lance’s answer.

“Yeah. Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr under [ladyvialana](https://ladyvialana.tumblr.com/)


End file.
